Students and parents have long cared about the earnings potential of different degrees, but information previously available to them has been of low quality. Information published on 13 June by the Department for Education using the Longitudinal Education Outcomes (LEO) dataset is a dramatic upgrade on what was once in the public realm. Instead of […] … learn more→
Author Archives: Kevin
Earnings data will be ‘crucial’ for student choice
The PhD – 30 years after…
“Wow. So I guess you’re not using your PhD, huh?” It would be a surprising question if it were the first time that I heard it. Last week, another person offered their unsolicited opinion of my graduate degree and its apparent utility. True, the comment wasn’t overtly “snarky,” but the inference of years of wasted […] … learn more→
What faculty would love to tell admin
It’s so funny watching higher education in the UK slide into the pit, embracing the same failed structures that did so much harm to higher education in the US. Wasn’t anyone paying attention? It seems every time I read an article about the failure of higher education in the UK, it’s familiar to me: it’s […] … learn more→
More students are dropping out of university because of mental health problems
The UK student population has doubled in the last twenty years to almost two million. During this time, higher tuition fees have placed increased pressure on students – with a recent survey finding that 75% of students who receive a maintenance loan feel stressed about their debt. It may not be a total surprise then […] … learn more→
Have a good research ride
I am now back from two weeks annual leave. Going on leave doesn’t mean leaving your research and teaching interests behind. As often happens, I had a thought or two during my ‘downtime’. In fact, we had hardly begun our drive through the Highlands when we came across a large group of motor cyclists outside a […] … learn more→
Quality assurance in US higher education: one size does not fit all
Americans want their higher education system to do more to help students fully realise their talents and develop the skills that will lead to lifelong success. We believe that the higher education regulatory system can be improved to help achieve these goals. While president Donald Trump and secretary of education Betsy DeVos seem poised to […] … learn more→
How we doubled the representation of female classical scholars on Wikipedia
With more than 5 million articles in English and 30 million registered users, Wikipedia is the largest and most influential source of information in the world. But the online community-based encyclopedia is not a self-generating mass of neutral and reliable knowledge. It is created by people writing collaboratively all over the world. As a result, […] … learn more→
Truth is a “racist myth”?
I wrote earlier of how we’re being bombarded with false “facts” so obviously wrong that there’s little choice but for rational people to start considering what the fake media refers to as “alternative facts.” What happened to us as a people that we no longer can agree on even the most basic of concepts, like […] … learn more→
From little Acorns – a brief history of computer games in the classroom
Play has always been central to growing up, – whether it’s in the street or on a playing field – or in the structured formality of teachers’ quizzes. These days tablet computers are in nearly every pupil’s hands and children learn through computer games – both in the classroom and at home. Children’s coding initiatives […] … learn more→
Bibliography v. reference list … just semantics?
So here’s the thing. What’s the difference between a bibliography and a reference list? I was always taught there was an important difference between a bibliography and a reference list. The reference list is the stuff you actually cite in the paper. The bibliography is all of the books you read, some/a lot of which […] … learn more→
